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(More customer reviews)The "Pegasus" expansion for the Battlestar Galactica board game changes many things about the gaming experience players of the core BSG set have come to know (and sometimes dread). The goal is to simulate, in game form, the latter half of season two of the Battlestar Galactica TV show--with the arrival of the Battlerstar Pegasus, the internecine strife with Pegasus, the settling of New Caprica and subsequent Cylon oppression there.
1) New Human Characters
Admiral Cain has the "blind jump" ability which, at the cost of some civilian ships, gets the fleet out of tricky situations that could cost the fleet even more ships. Anastasia "Dee" Dualla has the ability to move all civilian ships on the board, hopefully out of harm's way. Louanne "Kat" Katraine is a hotshot pilot with the ability to use the numbers on skill cards (+2) she discards instead of die rolls. And Ellen Tigh--the only Human who draws the new Treachery skill cards--can usurp the Admiral or President title for one turn at a key moment. Of all of them, Cain sees the most play in games I'm involved in.
2) Playable Cylon Leaders
Yes, now you can start the game as one of three Cylon leaders: Cavil, Leoben Conoy, or "Caprica" Six. You can only play as a Cylon leader with four or more players involved. Cavil can make a Cylon Basestar appear on his turn, hounding the fleet mercilessly. Leoben can trade Skill cards from his hand with the Destiny deck, influencing Skill Checks. Six can steal cards from a player, but gives them the option to replace that card from outside their normal skill set. The Cylon Leaders have a way to infiltrate the fleet to help or hinder the Humans' struggle for survival. When they are infiltrating, they can activate locations and use Skill cards as if they were Human players. Cavil seems to be the strongest Cylon Leader by a large margin.
3) Cylon Leader Agendas
Instead of drawing Loyalty cards, the Cylon Leaders have a hidden agenda that they must achieve in order to win. Depending on the number of players in the game, this agenda can be drawn from the hostile or friendly deck...though some of the hostile agendas are friendly and vice versa. I'd say about half of the new Cylon agendas are difficult and half are easy. And half of them (4 in the friendly deck, 2 in the hostile deck) require that the Humans win in order for the Cylon Leader to win.
4) Pegasus
The ship that this set is named after makes an (optional) appearance on a seperate small game board. Admiral Cain is the only character that starts the game on Pegasus. Pegasus has four new locations: Pegasus CIC, Airlock, Main Batteries and Engine Room. CIC lets you fire on Cylon Basestars and Main Batteries lets you fire at Cylon Raiders, however, using either location risks damaging friendly ships or Pegasus itself. The Airlock is part of the new Execution mechanic, where you can have a Skill Check and kill off another character. If they're a Cylon, they go to the Resurrection Ship. If they're Human, the fleet loses Morale and that player gets a new character. The Engine Room may be the strongest location, since it allows a player to discard skill cards to put a "jump" icon on any Crisis card, moving the fleet faster towards New Caprica.
5) New Caprica
This is the new "end game" for the BSG board game. It's easier to get to New Caprica than it was to get to Kobol in the original core game. But getting to New Caprica doesn't end the game, it starts a different one. New Caprica, like Pegasus, is a seperate smaller game board where all the players, both Human and Cylon, go when the fleet jumps far enough. The Humans need to unlock all the captured civilian ships and get them ready for evacuation when Galactica returns to rescue them. The Cylons, seeing the Humans will not comply with their plans, are trying to destroy all the civilian ships and detain all the Human players. There is a new New Caprica Crisis card deck that all the players switch to once they arrive on New Caprica. These Crisis cards are usually pretty brutal for the Humans and their dwindling resources.
Once Galactica arrives, a large space battle ensues. The Admiral can choose to leave New Caprica and end the game whenever they want--once Galactica arrives. But any ships left behind on New Caprica are destroyed (and their resources--mostly population--are subtracted from the fleet's total) and any Human players on New Caprica are executed, losing Morale for the fleet. So a Sleeper Agent Cylon Admiral could be even more of a dangerous foe than before.
6) Treachery Skill cards
Treachery is the newest Skill card. All Cylon Leaders (and Ellen Tigh) can draw Treachery cards. Treachery cards count as negatives in almost all skill checks. For the most part, their text punishes the Humans for playing "reckless" cards before Skill Checks (see below) and for discarding unwanted Treachery cards from their hands and for having Humans (or infiltrating Cylon Leaders) in the Brig or in Detention.
7) "Reckless" Skill cards
There are new "reckless" Skill cards for four of the five (all except Piloting) Skill decks from the original game. When you use a "reckless" card to affect a Skill check--giving a positive effect--you open up yourself to the Cylons playing Treachery Skill cards that could endanger the fleet.
8) New Cylon Basestars
Instead of the flat cardboard Cylon Basestars of the original game set, the new Cylon Basestars are very cool and plastic and three dimensional. The only problem is that the Cylon Basestar damage tokens can no longer be placed on the Basestars, unless you balance them carefully.
9) New Cylon Locations
Every Cylon location except the Cylon fleet has been changed in some way for the Pegasus expansion. The Resurrection Ship is no longer a legal destination unless you're a Cylon in the fleet revealing yourself. But you can now stay there and draw many Cylon Super Crisis cards. The Human Fleet location allows you to see the top card of the Crisis or Destination deck then, if you're a Cylon Leader, infiltrate the fleet. Crisis cards used to bedevil the Human fleet from the Caprica location now allow the "jump" icon to be used.
10) Other New Cards
There are non "reckless" Skill cards for all of the five Skill decks from the core game. Some of the new cards allow you to take an action in your Movement step. There are many new Crisis cards (depicting events from the latter half of season two of the TV show--including one that causes "Scar," the most feared Cylon Raider, to come into play) added to the regular Crisis deck. There are also a few new Destination cards with new game effects.
Final Thoughts...
Pegasus is a great expansion. Some people will like adding the Pegasus and New Caprica game boards, some won't. Population is the fleet resource most in danger in this expansion, followed closely by Morale--as opposed to Fuel in the core game set. Cavil's once per game ability (he can take three actions in one turn) can be devastating. Having the ability to execute players will make some players quite happy (and others not so much). My only quibble with Pegasus is that the new rulebook could be a bit more comprehensive. Lots of questions come up that aren't addressed in the rules or the online FAQ. But FFG and the game designer are fairly prompt in responding to rules questions.
All in all, I say that Pegasus is a great expansion for a great game and will keep people entertained long into 2010.
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As the battered colonial fleet limps toward an uncertain future, supplies dwindle, taking humanity's remaining morale with them. Suddenly, salvation appears as if delivered by the gods: Battlestar Pegasus, nearly twice the size of Galactica and boasting upgraded defensive capabilities, appears to be the fleet's savior. But will its arrival prove a blessing or a curse?
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